


Whiskey

by M_Mary93



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Arm Sling, Delta Force Jack, Family, GSW, Gulf War, Home From War, Hurt, Hurt Jack, Hurt!Jack, Hurt/Comfort, Jack and Nick are Twins, Jack is in his early 20s, Nick and Jack are twins, Nick is in his early 20s, Pre-Series, Twins, Whiskey - Freeform, Worried Nick, Worried!Nick, dislocated shoulder, gunshot wound, injured, shot, shoulder injury, sling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-09-13 14:59:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9129145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Mary93/pseuds/M_Mary93
Summary: It's the beginning of the 90's.  Jack has just finished up his second tour with the Delta Force, and thanks to his poor luck he goes home with a souvenir. A messed up shoulder.At first he tries to downplay his injuries to his family, but his twin brother, Nick, catches on to him.





	1. Coming back home

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I was listening to some country music. And a line in one of the songs sparked a scene in my mind.
> 
> This one starts out as pre-series. Like… in the 90’s… You’ll catch up… I know you will…  
> (Also, slight CSI crossover. Nick Stokes goes by Nick Dalton in this one… And he changed to his mother’s maiden name when he started working for the CSI, in my fictional world…)
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

 

 

Jack had just come home from his second tour with the Delta Force. He was drained. Lots of things had gone wrong, his best buddy had been blown up due to a road mine. The man had died in his arms, only luck caused Jack to return home to Texas. Dumb luck…

He sat on the front porch waiting. He hadn’t announced that he was returning, he never did. He had seen too many friends announcing that they would be home in a month, a week, a few days… Only to fall casualty when their Jeep hit a landmine.

Hell, that had almost been him this time around. That HAD been Tyler Red this time.

A familiar vehicle made its way down the gravel road from the east. A banged up, black Silverado, with country music blasting from the speakers. It sounded like home. Sounded like comfort.

Jack remained seated on the front porch swing. The car parked on the open lot in front of the family home. Jack heard the doors open and shut.

He heard familiar voices bickering as two sets of footsteps crunched towards the house. For a minute, he almost wished to be back in the sand. Back to gunfire, back to chaos, back on duty. Back to adrenaline.

The two people reached the stairs. The steps creaked like always.

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Nick froze as he saw the military cap and green duffel bag. It took him a second or so to realize his brother was sitting on the front porch. That he was home.

“JD?” Rita gasped, she was their youngest, older sister.

“Jack, you’re home!” Nick beamed, but his face fell into a frown as his mind processed what his eyes saw. “What happened to you?”

“Nothin…” Jack drawled as he rose to his feet.

“That sling says otherwise…” Rita claimed as she stepped closer and leveled her gaze with Jack’s. The heels she wore made her roughly the same height as her brothers.

“Look, Rizz… I’m fine.” Jack adjusted his sling, and flinched as his shoulder dealt him a fresh wave of pain.

“Fine my ass…” Nick countered, and stepped closer to his twin. “Get in, I’ll take your bag. What happened?”

“Just pulled out my shoulder…” Jack sighed and rubbed his neck with his free hand. He didn’t want to tell the truth about his injury, so he settled for a half-truth. His shoulder had been dislocated too. “In other words… Nothing…”

“Yeah, well. You know the drill… No work for you for the next four weeks. At least!” Nick ordered, and gestured for Jack to get in the house.

“No sports either…” Rita added as she held the door open for her brothers.

Jack offered a half-hearted nod, as he stepped into his childhood home. It smelled just like it always had. It smelled of their dad’s tobacco, their mom’s home cooking, coffee, all with a tint of cattle farm. It smelled like home, it smelled like safety. And it damn near broke Jack’s walls down.

He took a deep breath, and chewed the inside of his cheek to keep from crying.

“How’s Misty?”

“Oh, she’s doing well. Started working as a nurse in Houston a couple of weeks after you left…” Nick informed Jack about their oldest sister’s whereabouts.

“Mary?”

“Living with Brett down in Austin. She’s preggo, again.”

Jack smiled. “Good to hear. They’re still getting along?”

“Like they were made for each other…” Nick filled in.

Jack nodded, licking his lips. “Good.”

Jack stepped into the kitchen. He turned around and leaned on the counter, right beside the sink like he always did.

“Chrissy?”

“Christine is doing a lot better. She’s even starting to put on some weight…” Nick said with a sense of pride.

“Is she still living here?”

“Yeah, but she won’t be home before suppertime. She’s planning this project for her students. You know how she gets when she has a project at hand.”

“How could I forget? She practically drowns herself in them, it’s a miracle if she comes out to see the sun…”

Nick and Rita smiled and nodded in agreement.

“And Tess?”

“She’s got a boyfriend…” Rita answered rolling her eyes.

“Is it serious?”

“Kinda…”

“Should I scare him a bit? Make sure he treats our little gal with respect?”

“Well, remove the uniform and you look about as scary as a six week old puppy right now…” Rita smirked.

“Rizz, come on…” Jack moaned, “I can be scary…”

“Of course you can…” his older sister winked back. “Just not now…”

“And you two?” Jack put his left hand where one of his side arms used to be. “Status quo?”

“Studies…” Nick sighed.

“What kind?”

“I’m taking pre-med…” Rita smiled, “Nick decided to study forensics…”

“Goes to prove that you’ve both got a good noggin at the top of your shoulders.” Jack grinned, proud of his siblings. “Ma and Pa? How are they?”

“Same old, same old…” Nick nodded. “They worry ‘bout you every day. You’re always in our prayers…”

“Aaahh… That’s why I’m still alive…” Jack tried to put it across as a joke, but it fell flat.

“That’s not funny…” Nick shook his head, “We are worried ‘bout you. All the time. And then you come back home with a sling around your neck… We’d much rather have you back here…”

Jack shook his head, “Nah… It’s not for me…”

“Why not?”

“What should I do?” he didn’t meet any of their eyes, “I’m not made for studying. That’s not for me…”

“Jack, you know damn well that you’re just as smart as me. Probably smarter…”

“Some of us aren’t made for sitting behind desks half our lives. You remember how much trouble I caused in school…”

“If I remember correctly, I was to blame for half of that…” Nick crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the counter on the opposite wall of the kitchen. His place to hang.

“Well, you actually liked school. I liked PE.”

Nick couldn’t help but chuckle. Images of their time in school flashed before his eyes. And to be fair, Jack was at his best when he had the chance to move around.

“Okay, fair enough…” Nick nodded, “But couldn’t you at least find something safer to do than to run around risking your life on the other side of the planet?”

“What’s that I hear? You talking smack about the military?” Jack raised his eyebrows, but there were no threat in his voice. Not only were they from a family with strong military traditions, but they lived in the middle of the great state of Texas too.

“No, you know better than that…” Nick mimicked his twin’s expression, “Just saying that there are safer assignments than the freaking Delta Force!”

“True that…” Jack nodded, “But someone’s gotta do it…”

“At the peril of sounding blasphemous, I wish you were home, here with us. All the time…” Nick confessed, earning himself an agreeing nod from their sister.

Jack winked, “I won’t tell anyone…”

“You hungry JD?”

Jack shrugged with his left shoulder, not daring to move the right one an inch.

“I can make pancakes. You better eat something before Nana comes over… If she sees that you’ve lost weight… Well… You know what will happen…”

“Ah, Nana…” Jack grinned, “I can’t count how many times we’ve left her house painfully stuffed on food.”

“Almost every time we stepped up on her front porch…” Nick smiled.

“How’s she doing?”

“Nana? Spunky as ever!” Rita grinned, “She missed her favorite grandchild on her 74th…”

“I’m not her favorite…” Jack grinned back, well knowing that he was.

“Oh, yes you are…” Nick pointed a finger at him. “My theory is that it’s because you’re the one who ate most…”

Jack chuckled, then winced as his shoulder protested. After all, a dislocated shoulder was the least of his worries.   

“It’s a bad one this time?” Nick asked, his eyes locked on his twin’s right shoulder.

“Not the mildest, no…” Jack figured he had to admit to that much.

“Okay… You. Couch. Now.” Rita ordered, pointing towards the living room. “I’ll dish up some pancakes for us. Dinner won’t be served until all the animals are fed.”

“Yeah, I remember…” Jack nodded, gently pushing off the counter.

“Need any help in here?” Nick asked Rita, pushing himself off the opposite counter.

“Nah… Keep JD company…” she smiled back, “I’ve got this covered…”

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“So, was this a planned leave?” Nick asked, eyes lingering on his brother’s injured shoulder.

Jack nodded. He sat in his corner of the couch, feet propped up on an ottoman, his left arm draped over the sling supporting his right arm.

“So… Why the sling?”

“Shit happens…” Jack ground out, closing his eyes. “You know how I always got hurt around the time summer vacation rolled around?”

Nick chuckled, “Yeah, we could all see it coming from a mile away after a few years. We even made bets on what kind of cast you would end up with year after year…”

Jack nodded, gently. “Yeah, it was like that…”

“So, what happened?”

“Dislocated my shoulder…”

“Yeah, but how?”

“Had to climb a truck. Lost my footing, yanked the socket straight out…”

Nick winced in sympathy, and started kneading his own shoulder. He had never been that unlucky himself, but he had secondhand experience to make up for it.

“That sucks, buddy…”

Jack hummed in agreement, shooting his shoulder a glare.

“You know what?” he suddenly asked, leaving Nick with a puzzled look, “I think I’m good for a shower. Will ya holler when Rizz is done in the kitchen?”

Nick nodded, and watched as Jack got up and walked towards the stairs.


	2. Pancakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah… Hope you’re having fun…

Jack grimaced as he stripped out of his uniform. His shoulder was throwing fits. Not all that surprising, given that a couple of bullets had shredded up most of the muscles in the area, and taken out a few bones in their process.

He rid himself of the shirt and made short process of the t-shirt by cutting the fabric. There was no way he would be able to either put on or take off anything else than button downs on his own for the next couple of weeks.

He stared at the dressings in the mirror. They were waterproof, but the paddings were colored rust by his blood. He had an appointment with his doctor tomorrow to change them. He wasn’t all that keen on seeing the wounds again, the first time around had been bad enough.

He turned around and looked at the shower. He wouldn’t be able to shower without some kind of sling, but showering with the white sling he had on wasn’t really an option either.

“Better go all football playoff ’84 on this one…” he murmured to himself and stepped over to the drawers. He opened the top right one and searched through it until he found an elastic pantyhose. He tied a noose and tread his arm through it. Then he adjusted it and tied a second noose on it and placed it around his wrist. Then he unbuckled the real sling.

“Good thing my comrades won’t see this…” he mused as he cast a second look in the mirror.

Then he turned on the water and stepped into the soothing cool-ish shower.

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After a good while, he turned the water off and stepped out. He dried himself off, and wrapped the towel around his waist when he realized that he had forgotten to grab a clean set of clothes before the shower.

Not thinking anything of it, he picked up the white sling off the floor and shoved the uniform into the basket filled with dirty clothes. Then he unlocked the bathroom door and headed towards his old bedroom.

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He had managed to put on some pants by the time the door to the bedroom was pulled open. Leaving him standing in a pair of worn-out jeans and his improvised pantyhose sling.

“Man, a little privacy. That’s all I ask for!” he grumbled as he turned around to face his twin.

Nick was left standing dumb folded for a few seconds before he could react. His eyes were glued to the bloody dressings all around Jack’s shoulder, and the one on his side, half-hidden by Jack’s elbow.

“I was just going to say that the pancakes are done… But…” Nick furrowed his brows, studying the bandages. “What the heck really happened to your shoulder?”

“I dislocated it…”

“…And?” Nick demanded.

Jack shrugged his good shoulder and looked down to see that he was still partly undressed. Meaning his wounds couldn’t be kept secret anymore.

“Crap.” Jack sighed, “Okay, don’t let Ma know… But I kinda…”

“You kinda what?”

“Kinda took a few bullets…” Jack grimaced, like he was ashamed of the fact.

“You really think I’m gonna let you make them believe that your shoulder is only dislocated?”

“I was hoping for that…”

“You’re impossible…” Nick rolled his eyes, “Mom’s gonna find out either way, and her wrath is not going to be any milder the longer you wait…”

“Nicky, please?”

“She’s going to be pissed if you sweep this under the rug…” Nick reasoned.

“But…”

“Look, I can keep your secret. But Ma is going to be more pissed the longer it takes for you to tell her, or for her to figure it out on her own… What part of that don’t you understand?”

“The part where I actually have to tell her… She’ll look at me like I’m the clumsiest kid to ever walk this planet.”

“Well, that’s old news. Besides, I think we all agreed that you didn’t only walk the earth, you came skidding in from the side, tackling everything in your way. You know… Tables, chairs, the occasional mailbox…”

Jack tried his best not to laugh, it was no secret that he had a wild streak in him. Enough for a whole football team actually.

“Alright… Guess you’re right…”

“Now, you wanna get dressed before the pancakes get cold?”

Jack looked at the shirt he had placed on his old bed, and at the sling lying beside it, and the tan pantyhose currently holding his arm in an okay position.

“Yeah…” he sighed, looing at the Nick.

There was a pause when neither of them made a move. They both kept looking at the shirt and sling on the bed.

“Hey, man… Since you already know…” Jack trailed off, not sure if he should ask. “Could you…”

Jack nodded towards the things on his bed, and followed it up by a insecure smile.

“Help you?”

“Mhmm…” Jack nodded.

“Sure…” Nick walked closer, “But you’re confessing to those injuries as soon as Ma and Pa gets home…”

“I swear…” Jack held his good hand up in a mock salute.

“Good… Now, how do you want to do this?”

“Shirt first…”

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“That’s it!” Rita smiled as her younger brothers entered the kitchen again, “You look a little more familiar with a plaid shirt on…”

“Well, sure feels more like home…” Jack smiled back, taking his old seat at the dinner table.

“You ready for pancakes?”

“Born ready!” Jack grinned even wider, craving for one of his favorite comfort foods.

“But first Jackie here has something to tell us…” Nick said as he sat down beside Jack.

“Okay…?” Rita cocked her head sideways as she placed a plate with a stack of pancakes in front of Jack.

“I…” Jack bit his lower lip, searching for the best way to explain the situation. “I might have downplayed this whole shoulder thing…”

“Okay, so… Did you tear anything?”

“Kinda…”

“Kinda?”

“Go ahead, tell her. Or I will…”

“I got shot, okay.”

“YOU GOT SHOT?” Rita yelped, her hand pressing down on her chest.

“Hey, nothing major! I’ll be back in business soon…”

“Nothing major? How come I don’t trust you on that one?” Rita asked as she planted her hands on her hips. “When were you going to tell us?”

“I didn’t plan on telling anyone…” Jack admitted, looking down at the tabletop.

“Okay. No lies. No sugarcoating. How bad?”

“Five bullets, shoulder area. Three through and through’s, two lodged in there. Surgically removed. Plus one near-miss to my side…”

“Near-miss?”

“Grace wound, have gotten worse wounds from barbed wire…”

“Okay…” Rita ran her hands through her long brunette hair, “Bone injuries?”

“Yeah…”

“It wasn’t a question of if, it was meant as how many and where…”

“Oh…” Jack scratched his neck. “I have the X-rays in my duffle… You can see them later, Rizz…”

“Oh, JD…” Rita shook her head and kneeled down in front of her little brother, “You sure know how to keep your family on our toes, don’t you?”

She finished with ruffling her hand through Jack’s short hair.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so… Obviously, this was before Jack’s wardrobe started to consist of ONLY dark colored fabrics. And a young Jack in a plaid shirt and worn out jeans? Whew! I’d like to see that!
> 
> Hope you’re enjoying this so far!


	3. Whiskey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! Glad to see that a few of you enjoy this little thing I just couldn’t let go of… You know when an idea comes along and just hijacks all of your focus? Yeah, this was it…

 

 

“Nicky? Could you go…” his mother paused, “Nicky, what happened to your arm?”

“Well, you should ask Jack that question…” Nick answered from the other room, startling their mom.

She looked between her identical sons, not quite fathoming that they both were in her house at the same time. It was more than a year since the last time that had happened.

“Jackie… What happened to you?” she asked, her voice full of warmth and worry.

“I had some bad luck… Day before I was supposed to go on leave, I…” Jack paused to clear his throat, “I ran into a few bullets…”

“You what?”

“Ran into a few bullets…”

“He got shot, Ma…” Nick helped in.

Their mother sat down her groceries, and stepped over to the son wearing a sling.

“Whiskey…” his mother sat down in the chair opposite him, “Tell me…”

“I was on my way from the Jeep, over to a shack. We were planning for a search. The guys inside had a little more guns and a little more ammo than we expected. They opened fire. My shoulder slowed down a couple of bullets.”

“I thought you had bulletproof vests for that…”

Jack grimaced. “Yeah, only two problems… Bullets have to hit the VEST, and they have to actually stop in the vest.”

“The vest didn’t stop them?”

“Slowed two bullets down enough for them to stop inside my shoulder…” Jack frowned, “The weapons they had were a little more forceful than what those vests were meant for.”

“Oh, Whiskey… I don’t like having you over there, but I’m proud of you…”

Jack nodded, “I know, Ma… But you know I can’t quit…”

“I’ve raised you. I know when I’ve lost a battle…” Caroline answered brushing her right thumb across Jack’s cheek. “I know you’ll do whatever you have to do… And I know that there’s no way of making you settle down. You have a little too much of your mother in you for that…”

“You settled down…”

“Barely…” Caroline chuckled, “Took a good man for that to happen, your father is quite the charmer… And I was a little older than you are…”

Jack smirked back up at his mother, “You sayin’ there’s a chance for me to settle down too?”

“When the right person comes along… Until then…”

“I’m going to give you and Pa grey hair?”

Caroline laughed and nodded, “Yeah… That sounds about right…”

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Jack sat at the kitchen table and watched as his mother prepared dinner for them.

Nick was in the barn, feeding the cattle. Rita took care of the horses. And it was still about 20 minutes before Theresa would return with the school bus. Jack Sr. was on his way home from work. He usually made it home a few minutes after the school bus.

“Ma…”

“Yeah…”

“Do you think dad will get angry?”

“For what?”

“Because I went and got injured.”

His mother tried to hold back her laughter, but failed.

“Now why would he be angry with you for that?”

“Because it’s too typical for me?”

“You know, that man can’t really be angry at his little Cowboy…” she offered with a smile and a soft sigh. “You and your brother have had that man wrapped around your pinkies since the day you were born.”

“Oh… He can show his temper too…”

“Yeah, when you land yourself in the hospital because you thought jumping off the barn roof with a tarp for a parachute would work…” his mother turned to face him again, “I was a little angry that time too…”

“Hey, I had to try…”

“And that’s one of the reasons why I call you Whiskey…”

Jack chuckled, but gasped as his shoulder lit up in agony.

“You good there?”

“I really need to stop laughing the next five or six weeks…” Jack explained, dropping his head.

“It hurts, right?”

“Yeah… I’d say that…” Jack confessed.

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Theresa merely said ‘hi’ as she passed the kitchen on her way to the stairs. She didn’t spend enough time to realize it was Jack sitting by the table, and not Nick.

Jack figured the surprise on Tessa’s face would be priceless when they all sat down for dinner.

They heard Theresa’s door shut, just as the rumble of an old pickup truck rattled down the road towards the house. The breaks creaked as the truck made it to a stop, and the motor was shut off.

Less than a minute later, the front door opened again. But this time it was the older Jack Dalton who stepped inside.

“Hey honey!” he called as he kicked off his steel-toes. “I’m home!”

By the kitchen counter, Caroline blushed. “I heard you pulling up!”

“Mmm… Smells delicious in here! What’s for dinner?”

“Fried chicken…”

“Yum…” the older Jack Dalton said as he stepped into the kitchen. “Nick? What happened?!?”

“Pa…” Jack smirked, raising his eyebrows. “Don’t you recognize your own son?”

“JACK!?”

“Yup…”

“You’re home? When did you come back?”

“Couple of hours ago…” Jack answered.

“Good to see you, Cowboy… But what happened to your arm?”

Jack looked over at his mother, letting out a long breath.

“I got shot…”

“You got shot?” his father asked.

“Yeah…”

“Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah, but it’s gonna take some time.” Jack sighed, looking at his father.

“Does it hurt, son?”

“Mhmm…” he hummed and looked down at his arm, “Let’s just boil it down to fractures being comfortable…”

“Damn, Cowboy…” his father rubbed his chin as he sat down at the end of the table. “Well, at least we get to have you home for a while…”

“Yeah…” Jack nodded to his parents. “Think I’m gonna be home for a while…”

“Well, I have to go feed the cattle…” Jack Sr. said, pushing himself to his feet.

“Oh… Nick’s taking care of that… And Rita is out with the horses…” Caroline answered as she stirred the gravy.

“Okay, just the chickens and the pigs left then…”

Jack nodded to his father, “Correct…”

“Alright, see you at dinner. Great seeing you, son…”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so… Yeah…  
> You might be wondering why this story is called Whiskey? And you might also be wondering why his mother calls Jack for Whiskey? It’s an odd nickname for your kid, right? And, are there more people calling Jack for Whiskey?  
> Well, you’ve got one hint (for one of the questions) up until now. Not the biggest of clues, but it’s a start.
> 
> And his father calls him Cowboy… Well, chances are that I’m going to work an explanation for that too into this story. Just not sure when and where that is going to happen yet…


	4. Tessa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Hope you enjoy...

 

Jack retreated to his room to rest. He was exhausted, it had been a long week. And his shoulder could use a bunch of painkillers, or a good helping of ‘Texas Tea’, the boozy kind.

He walked over to his brother’s bed and borrowed the pillow. Then he walked over to his side of the room and propped himself up with his pillow and the one he borrowed.

He reached over to his nightstand and pulled out an old comic. He flipped through a couple of pages before his eyelids became too heavy and he slipped into a much needed slumber.

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He woke up about an half hour later when his mom hollered that dinner was ready, and his little sister galloped down the upstairs hallway.

Jack let out a moan, and sat up straight. His shoulder felt even worse than before he had fallen asleep. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, the painkillers he had taken a few hours ago would have left his system by now.

Letting his left arm give extra support to the sling, he pushed himself to his feet. A gasp left his lips as every single one of his injuries blazed up.

“Okay…” Jack sighed to himself, “Better attack that before I go downstairs…”

He treaded over to his duffel bag, and sipped it open. He rumbled around in the small pocket on the inside wall, and came up with a small orange cylindrical container.

He cursed as he fought to open the lid. With his right hand left relatively useless, the task was much harder than it could have been.

He managed to pry the lid off, and shook two pills out on top of the dresser. Closed the lid. Placed the pills in his mouth, and dry-swallowed them.

Then he made his way downstairs.

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The room went silent as he stepped into the kitchen. His little sister looked from one family member to the next, before she got curious and turned around.

She shot up out of her chair at the speed of light, and launched herself towards her older brother.

She slammed into Jack, ready to be embraced in a hug. She was real surprised when Jack stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. It was just then that she saw the white sling, just as Jack started growling in distress.

Theresa kneeled down beside him. The sight of her older brother writhing in pain in front of her, made her stomach twist.

“Jackie…” she placed one hand on Jack’s knee, a place she deemed as safe. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

Jack managed to bite out something along the lines of ‘It wasn’t your fault.’ and ‘It isn’t all that bad.’ between gasps of pain. It would have been more convincing without the grimaces and the tears running down his face.

All the rest of the family who were present, had gotten up and gathered around him.

“Whiskey…” his mother placed her hand on his good shoulder. “Anything I can get you?”

Through his pain, Jack wasn’t quite able to form a coherent answer to his mother’s question.

“Ice!” Nick shot in, “Ice is probably a good idea… Right?”

At that, Jack at least managed to nod, sending half of his family rushing for the freezer.

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Once a frozen bag of vegetables was draped over his shoulder, and he had gotten the chance to calm down a bit more, he let his father and brother help him off the floor.

“Jack, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see the sling…” Theresa murmured as the two men helped her brother get back to his feet.

“Yeah, yeah…. I know…” Jack growled clutching the sling tight to his chest. “Wasn’t your fault Tessa…”

“What happened?”

Jack looked between his parents and the two other siblings present, as if to ask if he should lie or tell the truth.

He got his answer when his mother put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look.

“I got shot…” he grimaced, baring his teeth.

Theresa turned to the rest of their family, a confused expression on her face.

“You guys knew about this?” she gave them a few seconds to answer if the wanted, “And you didn’t give me a hint?!”

“Jack… I’m so sorry…”

“Hey… You already apologized… I’m good, sis…” Jack offered a pained smile as he stepped closer and hugged his baby sister as hard as he dared. “I’m all good…”

“Well… As long as you don’t drop down unconscious…” Tessa whispered back.

“That was one time…”

“Three…” Nick corrected holding out the chair for Jack.

“Okay, a little more than once…” Jack admitted, shaking his head in defeat.

“I’m sorry, Jack…”

“Please… EVERYBODY, stop saying ‘sorry’ or I’m going to get sick of the word, okay?” Jack spoke up, “Can we agree on that?”

“Okay, J…” Tessa murmured into Jack’s chest.

“Alright, now… Let’s sit down and wait for Chrissy to get back.” Nick nodded towards Jack’s chair. “She should be here any minute…”

 


	5. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s another chapter. Hope you enjoy!

 

 

“Shot, huh…” Chrissy asked again, for like the third time.

“Yup…” Jack answered as he struggled with the chicken leg he was trying to consume.

“Bet you’ll get some pretty awesome scars then…”

Jack smirked, loving that at least one of his family members didn’t treat him like a fragile vase.

“Well, I better get something to pull chicks with…”

“Chicks dig scars…” Chrissy mused, “And they love that rambunctious thing you’ve got going, Wild Child…”

“Yeah, scars are cool. But I think these shoulder wounds are more of a material for scaring gals away…” Jack sighed.

“Nah… Just let it heal up and you’ll see…” Chrissy winked, “Besides, knowing you… You’ll probably be able to woo any lady you want to no matter how your shoulder ends up looking…”

“Aww, that’s sweet of you Chris…” Jack avoided chuckling, well knowing that his shoulder wouldn’t agree with that. “Have you scoped out anyone for me too?”

“Thought you wanted to do that by yourself… You see, I couldn’t remember what was your type… Blondes, brunettes, redheads…” Christine grinned.

“Caucasian, Asian, African, Latino…” Rita followed up.

“Athletic, skinny, thick, big booty, hourglass, pear-, apple-shaped…” Nick gracefully added, earning himself laughter from their parents.

“I’m not picky… I get it…” Jack blushed and ran his working hand through his buzz cut.

“No, no one can accuse you of that…” his dad chuckled, “Oh, and that reminds me… I met Georgia at the farmers market, told me to say hi the next time I saw ya…”

“How’s she doin’?” Jack asked, grinning at the thought of tenth grade prom-date.

“Oh, she’s doing well…”

“Think she’s still got a crush on you…” Nick added, jabbing his elbow into Jack’s good side.

“Yeah?”

“She flirted with me the last time I got a haircut…”

“Buzz cut?”

Nick nodded, “Guess I looked like I had just shipped home or something… Took a few minutes before I figured it was best to point out that I was me…”

Jack chuckled, grimaced and put his left hand up to his right shoulder for added support. “Man, don’t make me laugh. Alright?”

“Okay… But you should take a trip down to the old diner on the corner… Bet she’ll be glad to see ya…”

Jack smiled and nodded. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say y’all were up to hooking me up…”

“Who says we’re not up to that?” Tessa asked, with a devious smile.

“May I ask why?”

“I think they’re hoping you’ll settle down, Whiskey…” his momma smiled.

“But you don’t?”

“It would be nice… But all in its own time…”

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They ate in silence for a while, Nick was casting glances at his brother. He looked older than the last time he had seen him, well, older than he should have looked after the year that had passed.

In a way he looked bigger too. But that could be all in his head. His shoulders seemed more wide-set, even though he was skinnier than Nick could ever remember his brother being. He wasn’t really skinny, skinny… But he was too skinny to be his twin brother. They probably didn’t feed him enough over there…

Nick could see a glimpse of two of the many dressings covering Jack’s wounds. The white strap that held Jack’s sling level seemed to dig down on his shoulder. The band wrapped around his back and took hold of the elbow end of the sling.

The way brother’s hand hung limply was weird for Nick to see. It looked like the hand was dead, except for the color of it.

Nick had seen Jack’s shoulder up close. He knew there were eight wounds from the bullets alone, simple mathematics. Five bullets, two of them had been lodged in his shoulder. Five going in, three coming out. Eight. But there had been five bandages on the back of Jack’s shoulder, three square big ones for the exit wounds, two long rectangle ones, likely covering surgical scars. The front of his shoulders had been covered by three BIG ones, more than enough to cover five entry wounds. The parts of Jack’s shoulder which hadn’t been covered by dressings, had been mottled with black and blue bruises. The color of the bruise had migrated down Jack’s torso, and down his arm. Truth be told, the sight of the bandages and the bruises could be enough to leave people with nightmares.

Nick didn’t want to think about how it was for Jack. Jack who had been shot, felt the pain, seen the wounds…   
Nick hoped his brother was just as strong as he had always believed his brother to be. Nick just hoped that his brother would bounce back like he always did.

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“What ’cha lookin’ at?” Jack asked around a mouthful of mashed potatoes, tilting his head towards his younger twin.

“Nothing…” Nick shook his head, putting his attention back to his own plate.

Jack raised his eyebrows in a question, but didn’t go further with it. He could ask later.


	6. Cowboy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope you’re enjoying yourselves. And I hope you enjoy this chapter…

 

 

Jack woke up early the next morning. Long before any of the animals were to be fed, long before they would eat breakfast.

He sat up and picked up one of the many pillows he had borrowed to sleep. It wasn’t comfortable for him to lay down, so Nick had come up with the great idea to prop him up with extra pillows.

Being the restless man he was, he couldn’t just lay around and rest, so he put on his jeans and hung the plaid shirt around his shoulders.

Then he padded down to the first floor, and headed for the backdoor.

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Jack sat out back, near the old doghouse and the horse-breaking ring. Jack had spent many hours there, he started competing in Bronc and Bull riding, even won a few buckles. That was how his father had started calling him ‘Cowboy’. Actually it had started when Jack competed in riding sheep as a small kid.

He looked down at his sling. It would be a long time before he would get the chance to ride a bucking bronc again. He WOULD get back to riding again, just as he WOULD have at least one more tour with the force.   
No matter what, he would return. And he would get back better.

He massaged his right hand with his left. His hand was swollen and sore, but Jack believed the gentle massage would help with the muscle pains in his hand and wrist.

He heard footsteps fall across the gravel, they were heading towards him.

“Reliving the old glory days?”

Jack turned around enough to see his twin brother coming towards him. He had a dirty t-shirt, cut off shorts and a ball cap pulled down low in front of his eyes.

“Well, I was hoping that I would get the chance to ride during my leave…” Jack sighed and sat back. “Guess I won’t be riding this time…”

“Were you thinking about competing too?” Nick asked as he sat down on the log beside Jack. His knee almost touching Jack’s.

“Of course.” Jack grinned, then looked down at his sling. “But that’s not happening now…”

“No, it’s not…”

“Sucks coming home injured…” Jack sighed, scowling down at his shoulder.

Nick nodded in agreement.

“Hey, what happened to Spot?” Jack asked nodding towards the old doghouse.

Nick looked down at his boots, rubbing his neck. “He got run over by the milk truck…”

“Oh…” Jack looked down at his own boots. “That dog loved chasing wheels…”

Nick nodded at the memories. “We’re going to pick up a new puppy some time next week… Can’t have a farm without a farm dog…”

“Nah… That’s just not right…” Jack agreed. “Did it happen long ago?”

“Couple of weeks ago…” Nick explained, “We need a dog here…”

Jack nodded. “So… Were you headed for the barn or something?”

“Yeah. Figured I should take care of the cows, that way I don’t have to take the chickens.”

“Yeah, chicken manure is horrible…” Jack noted pressing his good hand to his nose at the thought of the stench.

Nick nodded, “Yeah. Well I better get going, cows won’t feed or milk themselves…”

“No, they’ve never done that before…” Jack smirked, “Mind if I join?”

“But you’re…”

“As company…” Jack put up his left hand, “Just as company…”

“Okay…” Nick nodded, “But we meant what we said, no working for you…”

“Yeah, yeah… Scout’s honor…”

Nick chuckled, “Maybe you should put that shirt on properly first?”

Jack looked down at where he had buttoned two buttons to make the shirt hang on even though the shirt just hung over his right shoulder.

“Nah… Not that important…”

“You couldn’t do it?” Nick asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Of course I could do it… I just didn’t bother too…”

“Yeah, you’re lying…”

Jack exhaled in defeat, “Yeah, guess I am…”

“Need help?”

Jack nodded, “Yeah… I could use a little help…”

Nick nodded and pushed to his feet. He walked around to Jack’s right side and unbuttoned the two buttons.

“You ready?”

Jack shook his head, he wasn’t ready for this. He knew it would hurt.

“Want me to wait?”

“No.”

“Okay, let me just take this shirt off you, then we put it on your bad arm first.”

Jack nodded gingerly.

Once the shirt was off, Nick shook it out.

“You want rolled up sleeves?” he asked as he started rolling up the sleeves before Jack could answer, “It’s too hot for anything else…”

“Yeah, thanks…” Jack smiled.

“That bruise looks even worse today…” Nick noted with a slight worry.

“Well, it’s still less than a week since it happened. It’s still getting worse…”

“And the pain?”

Jack frowned.

“Still getting worse that too?”

“Yeah…” Jack grimaced, “I kinda expect it to get worse for another week, maybe two…”

“It’s not at its worst yet?”

“No…”

“Exactly when did this happen?”

“Saturday.”

“Saturday this weekend?”

Jack nodded.

“Today’s Thursday. That makes it 5 days…”

Jack nodded again.

“Shouldn’t you be at the hospital?” Nick locked eyes with his twin. “Isn’t five days a little short before you go running around on your own? You should probably be in bed, with antibiotics and painkillers through an IV!”

“Nah, Nicky…” Jack shook his head, “I was cleared to be shipped back stateside, and to be sent home. I just had a visit at the hospital to change the dressings, and scheduled an appointment to change them today too…”

“I think you’re still a little too badass for the rest of us… Good to see that you haven’t changed that much.” Nick mused as he started threading the right sleeve of the shirt through the sling.

“Me, changed?”

“Yeah, you’re different…”

“I…” Jack started but was cut short when his arm lit up with pain. He clenched his teeth and grimaced.

“I’m sorry…”

Jack finished gasping with pain and straightened up.

“I haven’t changed.” Jack finished, squaring his shoulder(s).

Nick finished getting the right sleeve around Jack’s right arm before he spoke back.

“Yes you have…” Nick sighed as he lifted the strap of the sling just enough to get the plaid shirt under. “You seem different.”

Nick held out the left sleeve for Jack to put his arm through.

“You seem older…”

Jack put his arm through the shirt and laughed.

“Ow. Ow, DAMMIT!” he reached to stabilize his shoulder as his legs trembled. He used a couple of minutes before he dared to speak or move again.

“That’s because I am about a year older…” Jack smiled back.

“That’s not what I mean… Because then it would be like looking in the mirror…”

“Well, as far as I know, time moves the same all over the world.”

“Jack…”

Jack raised his eyebrows, “If you’ve got something to say, spit it…”

“When you left, you… You seem older… You seem tired…”

Jack shrugged his good shoulder, “Well, having a painful shoulder injury is kinda tiring… Let’s leave it at that.”

His twin’s last sentence told Nick that the discussion was over, and that Jack wouldn’t answer or listen to any more that could relate to it.

“Okay…” Nick sighed, “Let’s leave it at that…”

He didn’t look Jack in the eyes as he helped buttoning the shirt. He didn’t know how to ask Jack what he really wanted to, didn’t know how to confirm what he feared. He knew Jack was different now, and he believed he knew why. He just had to let Jack tell him at his own time. Which could take years, knowing his stubborn twin.

“Let’s go feed the cattle, before dad beats me to it…” Nick jerked his head in the direction of the barn. “I sure don’t want to be left with feeding the chickens and gathering eggs…”

 

Jack nodded and followed after his brother.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so… Another chapter down.


	7. Dressing change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay… So… Another chapter?

 

Jack sat in the waiting room of the hospital. He had gotten his mother to drive him, before she went to work. He would walk over to the diner Georgia worked at later, and hang around there for a while until Nick and Rita finished their day at college. Then he would catch a ride with them back.

But first, a doctor’s appointment.

“Mr. Dalton?” a short, stocky nurse called out in the doorway.

Jack pushed himself up off the waiting couch, and walked over to the nurse.

“This way, Mr. Dalton.” The nurse smiled and led him to the room where his doctor was.

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“Now, if you could take your shirt off…” the doctor said as she got out a few things from a cupboard. “Then we can get started…”

Jack nodded and started unbuttoning his shirt. He knew that he probably would need help before he was finished, but he could do some of it himself.

He was halfway done when the blonde doctor brought the things she needed over to the exam table.

“Imma need some help from here on…” Jack drawled, smiling towards his doctor. He had managed to get his right arm free, but that was it.

“Okay, can you tell me how you got this wound I am going to change on?” the doctor asked as she started to work Jack’s shirt under the sling strap.

“Wounds. I got shot near the border between Iraq and Kuwait.”

“Oh…” the blonde almost gasped. “So you’re an army man?”

Jack grinned wide, “Sure am!”

The doctor stopped in her tracks as she revealed the dressings that covered Jack’s shoulder. Biting her lower lip, she looked Jack in the eyes again.

“They really did a number on you…”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I was not prepared for this by the look of you, I have to admit that…” she furrowed her brows before she continued. “How many bullets did you take?”

“Five to the shoulder and upper arm, one just nicking my side…”

“Okay… Any other surprises you’ve got in store for me?”

Jack shook his head, giving the doctor a smile. “No, but it doesn’t look too good…”

“I bet…” the young doctor frowned, “I’ve seen a few GSW’s already. The exits looks the worst.”

Jack nodded and watched as the doctor resumed to take his shirt off without taking off the sling.

“Yeah, I’ve probably seen more GSW’s than any one single person should during their lifetime…” Jack sighed, rubbing his good hand over his thigh.

“Was this your first tour?”

“No, my second active tour. Been military for a few years…” Jack nodded.

“Ready for this?” the doctor asked as she started peeling at the corner of one of the bandages.

“Oh, I’m ready. I’ve seen it before…” Jack looked at the ceiling. “Are you ready, darling?”

The doctor took a second to get control of her voice again. “I’m ready, and please don’t call me darling…”

Jack looked at the blonde doctor, “Okay, if you say so…”

“Thank you…” the doctor smiled. “Can’t do my job if I’m blushing like a fool…”

“Alright, ma’am…” Jack re-directed his attention to the doctor’s fingers working the first of the bandages off.

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“Well, that looks awful…” the blonde stated after the last dressing was pulled away. “But the tissue looks good, no infections or anything… Just grand trauma…”

Jack nodded casting a look down at his shoulder area. He grimaced and looked back up at the doctor.

“I’m so glad I can’t really bend enough to see the exit wounds. The entries are looking more than nasty enough for me…” Jack clenched his teeth and smiled a fake smile.

The doctor nodded understandingly. “Yeah, I get that…”

She picked up a gauze sponge, and soaked it in some kind of antiseptic solution. She held it a couple of inches away from the wound she had uncovered first. “Ready, Mr. Dalton?”

“Yes ma’am…” Jack answered and clenched his jaw and left hand. He knew this would hurt and sting, the doctor who had tended to his wounds yesterday had been offering him sedation every other minute through the ‘procedure’. Jack had politely declined the offer time after time.

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The cleanup had Jack cussing like a seasoned sailor. He wasn’t proud of it, but he hoped the cute doctor didn’t mind his foul mouth too much.

She was hacking away at his broken shoulder after all…

“Just a few more minutes…” she reassured him as she cleaned one of the exit wounds. “Only two more wounds to clean after this one…”

“You better not be lying ‘bout that…” Jack growled, steadying his right arm with his left.

“Relax, we’re almost done…”

Jack nodded, then sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth as the doctor hit a particularly sore spot.

“I’m so sorry…” the young doctor said for what felt like the millionth time.

“Ow… I’m already looking forward to not cleaning these wounds anymore…” Jack grouched. “This could be used as torture!”

“Of course it could…” the doctor agreed, “Getting wounds like that cleaned, it’s not for the faint of heart.”

“Did you just start the next one?” Jack asked hopefully.

“Yeah, only this one plus one left.”

“You won’t believe how thankful I am to hear that…” Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Then he let out yet another string of cusswords as the gauze sponge the doctor used to clean the wound with hit a spot which made Jack see stars and planets.

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“It’s a little less painful to re-apply the dressings, huh?” the doctor asked as she applied a Vaseline gauze to the last of the entry wounds.

Jack nodded and smirked, “I can actually breathe naturally when you do this…”

“That’s good, because I think I learned a few new cusswords back there…”

“Oh, I’m sorry darlin’”

“Don’t call me darlin’…” the blonde doctor gave him a stern look, but smiled soon enough.

“Oh, yeah… Right…” Jack grinned, “That way you won’t stab me in the shoulder with a cotton swab…?”

The blonde giggled, and nodded. “Something like that, yeah… No. Hospital rules.”

“Hospital rules saying that I can’t call you darlin’?”

“Hospital rules saying that I shouldn’t engage in any kind of relationship with my patients. You calling my darlin’ is making that kinda hard for me…”

“Oh, okay… Sorry…” Jack scrounged up his nose and smiled ever so slightly. “I’ll behave…”

“Thank you, Mr. Dalton…”

Jack nodded and looked down at the almost covered wound.

“I have to say that you’re great at your work…” Jack noted, studying her handiwork.

“Thank you.” The doctor grinned, “I grew up with five brothers, they all play or played sports, and enjoy the casual ride on motorized two wheeled vehicles.”

“You’ve seen your share of road-rash then?”

“Oh, yes I have…” she nodded and taped on an adhesive dressing. “There, all done…”

“Okay, when do I need to come here the next time?”

“Tomorrow, and then Monday next week.”

Jack nodded, looking down at his shirt laying on the exam table. “Could you help me with the shirt? I don’t think the rest of the staff here would be too happy if I left here shirtless…”

The doctor fought a smile, and looked at her shoes. “I bet a couple of nurses would have a lot to talk about for the next month or so…”

Jack chuckled and reached for his shoulder with a pained grimace on his face. “Crap. I need to stop laughing. Permanently.”

“I could give you a shot for the worst pain… But then you need to remember that it’ll hurt just as bad when it wears out, and it’s going to be worse if you stress your shoulder…

“Think I could use that…” Jack said as he bit down on his lower lip. “And trust me, I won’t be moving my arm anytime soon…”

“Okay, just a minute, and I’ll give you that shot…” the doctor said as she went over to the cabinet again, “Then I’ll help you get dressed again…”

“Thank you.” Jack smiled as the doctor was about to start sticking her needle in his shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, finished another chapter… Hope you enjoyed.


	8. Georgia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, it’s been a long time since I updated this chapter. As always, I am sorry… You know… Life happens…

Walking was about the only kind of exercise be could get at the moment. Before he got injured, he had used jogging or running as a way to get his mind off of things. And of course boxing was a great antidepressant and stress relief, but his shoulder made all that impossible now.

His shoulder was still numb from the shot the doctor had given him, and it would probably stay that way for six more hours, ten if he was lucky. It was heavenly bliss compared to how it had been earlier, especially during the treatment.

He trudged along the highway. He kept good pace. Just about 4 mph, not bad when you’ve recently had one of your shoulders turned into swizz cheese.

One foot in front of the other. A few cadences were spinning on repeat inside his brain. The rhythm in the Jody calls kept his feet moving quickly across the asphalt.

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The walk from the hospital to the diner Georgia worked at was done in 25 minutes. He waited a few minutes outside before he went in. He hadn’t seen Georgia in a really long time.

The diner smelled of coffee, pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls. Jack literally had to stop and smell the scent. It made him hungry.

Swiping his tongue across his lip, he stepped forward and headed for the counter.

He recognized the black curls immediately. His heart nearly skipped a beat when her brown eyes with a tint of green looked up towards him. His chest tightened when he trailed his eyes down to her full lips, bright red lipstick, perfectly lined. The corner of her mouth turned upward as soon as she laid eyes on him, his mouth turned into a goofy grin.

“Whiskey…?” her question came almost breathlessly.

“It’s me…” Jack smiled, walking closer.

“Whiskey!” she grinned and skipped out from behind the counter. She didn’t come all the way over to him, she stopped a few yards away from him. Her gaze was trained on the sling supporting his right arm. “-Are you okay?”

Jack glanced quickly down at his shoulder. Making sure that his shirt was still clean, that his shoulder hadn’t sprung leak and colored his blue plaid shirt red.

“Yeah, nothing a little rest and comfort won’t cure…” he answered quickly.

“So, how’d you do it? Show off for a girl?”

“I showed off to the old red, white and blue…” Jack shrugged his left shoulder a quarter of an inch, “Does that count?”

“Well, I guess the Statue of Liberty thanks you…” Georgia chuckled, “How bad is it?”

“Bad enough, but not that bad…”

“Well, you’re cryptic…” Georgia sighed, “How bad is it? Compared to the rodeo finale our junior year?”

“Okay, probably a little worse than that… But hey, I only missed a few football games that fall, ended up as starting linebacker towards the end of the season… And I made it to the state finals in… -Was it bull or bronc riding?”

“Both, but you were riding bulls under your own name… ‘Nick’ rode broncs that season…” Georgia shook her head, “And you persuaded him to do your homework, if my memory is correct…”

Jack flashed a giant smile, “Now, see… Nick has always cared about school and stuff… I think it was fun for him…”

Georgia scrounged up her nose, “I don’t really think so… I wouldn’t have liked it…”

“But you only got A’s…”

“While you got C’s and D’s…?”

“I barely passed… Mr. Ericson almost held me back a year…”

“Now, why didn’t he do that?”

“Probably because he didn’t want me in his class for another year…” Jack answered, rubbing the back of his neck innocently. “I did put that man through hell… Didn’t I…”

“Well, one of your first encounters, you played ‘first-man-to-the-moon’… And then it all went downhill from there…” Georgia reasoned, “I think he had every right to dislike you…”

“And you…? Did you dislike me? Head cheerleader, valedictorian, all around good girl…”

“Did I dislike you?” Georgia let out a nervous laugh, “Boy, you know the answer to that one…”

“Yeah, I do…” Jack smirked, “But I’d like to hear it anyway…”

“You were my little wild taste of freedom. The little reckless streak I had to keep myself on the tracks.”

“Mhmmm…”

“You were my first kiss in 8th grade, the first boy I snuck out with a couple of years later… You were bonfires, long sweet kisses and my heart racing…” Georgia smiled, her voice low enough so that no other would hear her words. “You had the hands my fingers traced the scars on, you were the one to pick me off the ground and swing me around until I screamed… Yet I still felt completely safe in those arms of yours…”

Jack smiled, remembering long nights under the Texas sky. Seeing the sun settle in the west, lay in the bed of his truck stargazing all night until the sun rose in the east. Wrapped tightly in each other’s arms, with an afghan covering them.

“I could never, ever, dislike you…” she finally answered with a sigh.

“…But?”

“But I know you… And you’ve got things to do and places to see…” Her dark eyes fell towards the floor, “We’re very different in that way… I’m a typical small town girl, I’ll probably stay here in Daingerfield for the rest of my life.”

“Now that sounds depressing…”

“It’s not!”

“Look, I LOVE Daingerfield, but… There is so much more to see than old Mr. Jonasson bailing hay, and playing mailbox baseball… Wouldn’t you like to all that America has to offer?”

Georgia looked up towards Jack’s shoulder again, then directly into his eyes.

“Look, Jack… I’d love to, but I would probably get homesick before we got out of Morris County…” She raised her right hand to touch his left arm. “I would be miserable, and you would be miserable because of me…”

“Nah… I wouldn’t…”

“Jack… -Whiskey…” She smiled tilting her head sideways. “I’m pretty sure you were born a rambling soul… It’s amazing that this small town has been able to harbor you as long as it has, but we both know it… As soon as that arm of yours heals back up… You’re outta here…”

“Well, what if it doesn’t heal?”

“Then you would find some way to make it outta this place anyway…” Georgia let out a sigh, “You were made for leaving, but I’ll always hope that you’ll find your way back to me…”

“I always will, I can’t do anything else for my little sweet-tea…” Jack winked.

“So… How long are you back for?”

“That’s yet to be decided…” Jack admitted, carefully moving the fingers on his right hand just a bit.

“Depends on your arm?”

Jack nodded.

“What’d you do to it?”

“A whole lot, but I don’t think I should let you know here…” Jack glanced around the diner, “Maybe, are you free tonight?”

Georgia nodded, “Yeah, after 5 p.m.”

“Wanna meet up then?”

“Yeah, sure…” She smiled, “Are you swinging by to pick me up?”

Jack blushed a bit, before he almost stuttered, “I –I can’t…”

“Your arm?”

“Doc’s got me on some decent painkillers, I actually think I should follow doctor’s orders this time… You know, take it easy and don’t get behind the steering wheel. And I can’t shift gears anyway…” he finished with a slight nod towards his injured shoulder.

“That’s what you get for not driving an automatic…”

“Darlin’, I couldn’t put an automatic in drive either with this wing…”

“It’s really bad? Isn’t it?”

“I’d say it’s one of my worst up to date…” Jack admitted sheepishly, he knew Georgia would be shocked when she found the truth about his sling. The fact that he had taken as much as five bullets, plus one that nicked his side. Yeah, she wouldn’t be pleased.

“Aw, let’s hope I can help make it better tonight then…” she drawled, causing Jack’s emotions to try out new flips and tricks.

“Hon, I don’t think I can… Err… You know…” He started gesticulating with his left hand to help his words come out and make sense. “I’m… -I… I’m not up for _anything_ physical…”

Georgia giggled at Jack’s sudden innocent way of explaining that they couldn’t do what they usually did. Because seeing a guy with Jack’s confidence level stutter, that wasn’t common practice.

“Okay, then we find something relaxing to do…”

“Sounds good to me…” Jack smiled, still a bit red in the cheeks.

“I’ll pick you up at 6? Does that sound okay?”

“Sounds alright to me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay… So… As you might have guessed, Jack and Georgia have a very loose relationship… But they care a lot about each other.


	9. Creek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, hello there!

Georgia let out a long, controlled, breath as she folded her green apron.

_Here we go again…_ She thought. _I never learn… Probably because I don’t want to learn this one particular lesson…_

She looked at herself in the mirror.

_Opposites attract. The same apparently goes for magnetic fields as for human relations. Cause why else would I fall for Whiskey? He’s… -He’s never going to settle down._

Giving herself a shy smile, she tucked a stray curl back behind her ear. She remembered how much it had hurt the last time around. How her heart felt like someone had dropped it in a combine. It had been like someone had taken a dull spoon to her chest and carved out her heart, leaving a wide and deep hole. And she always felt like that when he left.

_Stupid emotions…_

Shaking her head, she picked up her purse and prepared for another heartbreak the next time Jack left town. She knew it was a question of _when,_ not _if_ …

She went outside and walked over to her car. She did the usual struggle with the car lock, but won at last. She got in and turned the key in the ignition. The old Ford motor roared to life, sputtered a few times then settled for a low rumble. 

Georgia rolled out onto the highway. She headed north towards her apartment, she needed to change out of her work attire. As she drove, she started planning what she should wear. She compared her options between a dress or pants and blouses. Running up the pro’s and con’s between them, she settled for a pair of faded blue Levi’s jeans and a bold flower button-blouse. It would compliment her attitude, and she would look cute wearing it.

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Jack was sitting on the stairs in front of the house when Georgia pulled up in front of the house.

His heart did some irregular jumps and tumbles as Georgia stepped out of the old Ford. She looked hot enough to make the devil cry.

He grabbed the porch railing with his good hand and used it to pull himself up. Still, he couldn’t help but let out a low pained moan. Whatever wonder-juice doc had injected into his shoulder earlier that day had now started to leave his system. His arm and shoulder was aching, throbbing in sync with his heartbeat.

As soon as he was vertical, he had to take a second to get his bearings. A few deep breaths and the world stopped spinning out of control. He adjusted his sling and started his way down the steps.

“Whoa… You look worse…” Georgia commented as she got closer. “Look, we could postpone this…”

Jack shook his head, “No. It’s not that bad…”

“You have a track record of saying that things aren’t as bad as they are…”

“No I don’t!”

“We’ve got the time you jumped off the school roof, the time you got bit by a German Shepherd, the time you crashed your motorcycle down at Elli’s Cove, the time you crashed your motorcycle on highway 259, that time on Ore Road…”

“Okay, I have shitty luck when it comes to motorcycles… I get it…” Jack sighed, not all that amused by Georgia rattling off examples.

“The school trip to that ski-resort in 11th grade. Cory’s backyard party in ’86… -I could go on…”

“Please don’t…”

Georgia smiled a short second, then she went serious again. “Whiskey… What happened to you…?”

“Not here…” Jack sighed and nodded towards the Ford, “Let’s take a ride.”

“Alright, where to?”

“The creek?”

“Okay, get in…” Georgia nodded towards the passenger side of the car, as she went around to open the door for Jack.

“Thanks…” Jack said blushing just a bit, “You don’t really have to…”

“You’re white as a sheet, I think you could use all the help you can get.” Georgia said with a knowing smile.

Jack stepped closer to her, he wrapped his good arm around her back and pulled her closer. He was gentle about it, doing his best not to disturb his shoulder. Then he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m good…”

“Sure you are…” Georgia chuckled, going up on her tip-toes to kiss Jack on the lips.

Jack smiled and folded himself into the passenger seat. “Thanks babe…”

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Georgia drove slowly towards the creek, she tried to avoid all the potholes the old asphalt was littered with. Each time she failed that task, Jack sounded his discomfort and she felt like a horrible person.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” She prodded, curious about what kind of injury Jack was sporting.

“As soon as we’re out of this old tin-can…”

“Talking smack about my car, Whiskey?”

“Always…” Jack grinned, placing his left hand over his right wrist. Then the ’68 Ford Bronco found another hole in the road, and Jack groaned out in pain once again.

“Sorry, just another mile…”

“I know…” Jack winced, “We’ve been driving down to this creek ever since we started to drive…”

“Yeah, I remember you picked me up in your daddy’s Cheyenne a couple of months before you turned 16…”

“Yeah, dad tried getting creative when he was about to punish me after that one…” Jack let out a light chuckle, quickly followed by a grimace.

“Well, did it work?”

“Don’t think so…” Jack shrugged his good shoulder, “I remember I was real cautious for a few days, but it didn’t stick…”

Georgia laughed, “Good thing that all the crazy things you did, didn’t end up on a rap sheet…”

Jack mimicked freezing in thought, and acted like he snapped out of it. “Man, that list would have been as long as my arm…”

“Longer…” Georgia prompted.

“Yeah, you’re probably right…” Jack agreed with a toothy grin.

Georgia nodded as she let the Bronco rumble across the side of the creek, before she stopped the car and put it in park.

“So… I’ve got a blanket and a front-row seat to the evening sky on the hood of my car…” Georgia smirked holding up the mentioned blanket. “I also brought coffee…”

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It didn’t take long before they both sat on the hood of the sky blue Ford.

“So… How did it happen?” Georgia asked, leaning her head on Jack’s good shoulder. “What happened?”

Jack rested his chin at the top of Georgia’s head. He looked down at his hand and moved his digits a bit, pain flared up his arm.

He didn’t look forward to telling her, but there were no other way around it.

“First off, promise me you won’t freak out…”

“You saying that, gives me promise of something that will probably freak me out…”

“Okay-okay… Just don’t…” Jack searched for the right words, the right way to put it. “Look, I’m obviously here, I’m obviously alive… I am going to get better. Not guaranteed that I’ll be as good as new, but we both know that I probably wasn’t that before I shipped out either…”

“With all the dislocations and fractures you collected through your sports career…” Georgia added jokingly, “I think you’re right…”

“We were a few miles west of Az Zubayr…” Jack started, trying to distance himself from what he was about to tell her. “We were about to search a building, I don’t think I can say much more about the op we were on. Some top secret shit… Anyway, it turned out that there were people inside the shack we were about to raid. People who were on the other side of the war.”

Georgia moved to look Jack straight in the eyes, but Jack didn’t meet her eyes. He kept his gaze locked on his boots.

“I was almost at the door of the building when the enemy opened fire.” He paused to swallow hard. “I was shot. Six times, five bad enough to cause trouble…”

“YOU WERE SHOT?”

Jack nodded without looking away from his boots.

Georgia was left speechless.

“One bullet just nicked me, three bullets were so-called through-and-through, and two bullets needed to be surgically removed afterwards.” Jack told mechanically, leaving all emotion out of it. “There were some so-called hard tissue damage…”

“What?”

“Basically means broken bones…” Jack almost whispered, “Clavicle, humerus, -and a few more things I don’t remember the name of.”

Georgia put her hand on Jack’s lap, forcing him to look towards her. Her eyes were watering, as were his. Her hand traveled down to his knee, where she gave him a gentle squeeze.

“It hurts a lot, right?”

Jack huffed a laugh, then let out a string of curses.

“Like nothing I’ve ever felt before…” he winced when he finally stopped spitting words that would make a sailor blush. “But please, don’t tell anyone else I said that…”

Georgia looked at her best-friend and regular kiss-mate for a long while before she nodded. “Okay. On one condition…”

“What’s that babe?”

“You tell me everything, as much as you can and as much as you’re allowed to…” She started. “You don’t hide when you’re hurting from me, you don’t hide it if your head is in the wrong place… You tell me, okay? You tell me, and I’ll be there for you, deal?”

Jack leaned over a bit, bumping his good shoulder into her right one.

“Sure you want to hear all that?”

“I’m sure of the fact that I don’t want you going through it on your own.” Georgia whispered back, her right hand intertwining with Jack’s left. “So, we’ve got a deal?”

Jack rubbed his thumb over the back of Georgia’s hand. They sat in silence for a few minutes before he finally answered.

“Okay, I will…”

“Thank you…”

“Oh, Georgia… Don’t thank me yet…” Jack sighed, shaking his head.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… Well, yeah…
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this… See ya!


	10. Nightmare

**Hello darlings! I’m back again with another chapter.**

_Bullets flying over his head. Chaos. People yelling and screaming, grown men crying. Him crying._

_There was nowhere to take cover, no piece of rock or metal big and sturdy enough to shield them from the ratt-tat-tat from the enemy machine guns. Hiding behind a way too small rock, hoping for the best was his only viable option. It wasn’t his first time being shot at, hopefully wouldn’t be his last either, but it was scary. He was scared._

_Towards the west, his right, Sergeant Tomms was laying on his back, clutching his neck. Jack wasn’t sure if his superior was still alive. Judging by the amount of blood seeping into the dust beneath him, his chances were slim._

_Jack felt his eyes water up and cussed himself. Real soldiers don’t cry, therefore he shouldn’t cry. Only reason to cry was when you got shot yourself, or if you lost a limb. That was the two reasons to cry around here, unless you were a sissy. Jack wasn’t a sissy. No sir._

_He swallowed hard and gripped his gun tighter. In one quick move he tossed himself around and started answering the fire. Twelve seconds later he had taken out four of the enemies. His eyes was still watering. –Must be some sort of pollen around here._

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Nick could hear his brother toss and turn from across the room. He heard the hiccups and the gasps coming from his twin, but he wasn’t sure of what to do.

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_“Back-up’s coming!” someone yelled, Jack felt a faint tug of relief. Help was coming._

_An explosion sounded. Shaking the ground beneath him, throwing him off balance. Gravel and dust rained down on them, but the worst part was Private Wesson landing over him and the sticky, warm feeling that crawled down the side of his chest. Not to mention the shudders and the rasping sounds Wesson let out as his lungs filled up with blood and he died on top of Jack. Nightmare fuel._

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“No… no…” Jack murmured, lashing out with his left hand.

Nick felt a ball of guilt build up somewhere in his gut. His brother was in some kind of nightmare, and Nick didn’t leap into action to wake him up. Mostly because he remembered the last time Jack had been home, and he had tried to wake him up from a nightmare and ended up in a quite uncomfortable headlock. He was a little weary of physically waking Jack up.

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_Jack cried out. Having someone die next to you is horrible, having someone die literally on you is even worse._

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Nick couldn’t any longer when Jack started screaming. He slipped out of his bed and hurried over next to him.

Sweat was beading on the bear parts of Jack’s upper body. He tossed and turned, something that would probably come back to haunt him when the painkillers he had taken earlier wore off.

Nick bit his lip and leaned over his twin. He let out an unsteady breath just before he placed his hand on Jack’s good shoulder.

What happened next seemed to happen in warp speed. Within a second Nick was pinned up against the wall next to Jack’s bed. Jack’s eyes were wide and wild, his chest was rising and falling rapidly. His left forearm was pressed against Nick’s neck.

They were frozen like that for a couple of seconds until Jack’s injuries caught on to the rapid movements and the pain started to present itself.

He folded in on himself, left arm coming up to guard and support the right one. A low, almost primal growl rolled out of his mouth.

Nick was left rubbing a hand over his throat.

“Crap, man. Are you okay?”

Jack didn’t really have to answer, it wasn’t difficult to read his posture.

“Will. Be.” Jack gritted out, his left hand now hovering over one of the wounds at his shoulder.

“You had a…”

“-Nightmare. Yes.” Jack nodded, sucking in a breath between his teeth. “I kinda figured that. Damn that hurt!”

“Sorry.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Was it the shoulder thing you dreamt about?”

Jack shook his head. “No, this was another mission. One I didn’t get injured on, didn’t even get a splinter…”

“But…?”

“But I was lucky, lots of other guys wasn’t.”

“Wanna bounce some thoughts off of me?” Nick asked, “Chat about it, get it off your chest?”

“Not right now.” Jack exhaled.

“Okay… But if you want to or need to…”

“You’re there, I know.”

“Good…” Nick nodded, then his right hand went up to rub at his throat, “Damn Jack, you’re strong…”

“Hope I didn’t hurt ya’”

Nick shook his head, “If, and that’s _if_ , I get a bruise… I can always say I was out with some girl…”

Jack smirked, “No one would believe you…”

“Yeah, they probably would…”

“Okay, but maybe not on a Tuesday night.” Jack smiled, as he relaxed more and more. The burning pain in his shoulder ebbed away to a steady throb.

“It’s Friday.”

“Then why are you home?” Jack feigned shock, “Shouldn’t you be out, actually checking up girls?”

“Nah, my brother’s home from war…” Nick shrugged, “Much more fun to hang around with him…”

“Aw, Nicky…” Jack grinned, “Trying to make me tear up?”

“Only cause I know it works…” Nick delivered an obnoxiously wide grin, then he shook his head. “No, I mean it. I’d rather spend my time at home with you. At least until you’re ready to go out for a beer or two.”

That almost brought a tear to Jack’s eye, and he had to swallow once or twice to be confident with his voice. He blamed the painkillers he was on, those things messed him up.

“Thanks bro…”

“Now, it’s a quarter past one A.M…” Nick shrugged. “Think you can get back to sleep without…”

“Another nightmare?”

Nick nodded.

“No.” Jack sighed, “Not yet.”

“Okay. Let’s go downstairs. Have some coffee, a bite to eat. Watch a little late night television. Try again in an hour or two, or fall asleep on the couch. Whatever happens first.” Nick said motioning for Jack to take the lead.

“Thanks man…”

“You’d do the same for me…” Nick shrugged.

 

**Hope you enjoyed. Have a nice day!**


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